Just The Dead Are Unsaveable
by Saramagician
Summary: Every one was pawn in the chess game of Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen if this pawns decide to take matters in their own hand? What if they had their own planing? What will happen when their plans make conflict with others? Rated to be safe...
1. Fire

By Saramagician

**Disclaimer**: I am not related in any way to the Harry Potter universe. I didn't create it. I would love to have, but I didn't. I wrote this story for fun only, and I'm not making any money from it (though I'm sure you all guessed that already)

**Rate**: Rated T just to be safe  
**Summary**: Every one was pawn in the chess game of Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen if this pawns decide to take matters in their own hand? What if they had their own planing? What will happen when their plans make conflict with others? Rated to be safe...  
**Warning:** There is possibility of violence, bloodshed, and drug abuse in future, not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!  
**A/N**: Thanks to Alethea27 and little-Medium-sized for their help to edit my mistakes! I hope you enjoy! R&R

* * *

**Chapter 1:** Fire

**Malfoy Manor**

Moon was in the middle of the sky and was looking at ground with her shiny face. Night was quiet and wind blew mildly and shook the tree branches slowly. Malfoy Manor stood there, without her usual sparkle. It had seen better days for the Malfoy family, days of glory and pride. But now that master of manor was in Azkaban and his family was in disgrace. Now, it was a very normal place for Death Eater meetings and a residence for some of them. It was not a manor that had housed one of most famous, powerful, and oldest pure blood families in the Wizarding World!

Inside the manor was quiet and that was now considered a rarity. After the arrest of Lucius Malfoy and some of his followers, Voldemort had been restless, ruthless, and angry. Well… more so than normal. He would punish his followers at every opportunity. This night hadn't been any different. He punished them all for not succeeding in their missions, some for just being there! By the end of meeting there was no one who wasn't suffering from after effects of Cruciatus Curse except Voldemort himself! After he called the meeting to an end and left the Manor, everyone sighed in relief as they were in no state for apparating and they didn't want to risk getting splinched or they were resident of the Manor. A few decided that a drink would be the best way to calm their still irritated nerves.

Narcissa, in the absence of Lucius, was in charge of manor and ordered the house elves to bring their best Elf Wine for them. After nearly the entire night had passed, Bellatrix retreated to her chambers as did the ones that could still walk. The ones that were too drunk to stand, crawled over to some quiet corner to drown themselves in their misery. Narcissa rose from her seat with her untouched glass and motioned for Severus to follow her. After they left the room, Yaxley and Goyle went to the library.

Narcissa closed the door behind Severus and gestured for him to sit in one of armchair in front of fire. Severus sat and waited for Narcissa to sit down before he asked in a business like voice, "What did you want to talk about, Narcissa?"

"What is wrong with inviting a friend for a chat?" she asked in the fake Pureblooded hurt way.

"Nothing is wrong with inviting a friend to a chat… but it seems wrong whenever you are involved," he answered coolly. It was right that they were friends, but neither she nor Lucius ever let him forget his blood status and they had never been close. Actually they never let anyone get too close. They always treated others with condescending looks as if everyone else was below them. Severus had never been an exception even though he was their son's **godfather**.

Severus never understood why they chose him for the task; how they could leave their son to _a half blood that's below them_. His stream of thought was interrupted when Narcissa start speaking. She drank all content of her glass in one breath before she answered Severus. "Well, perhaps you are right. One of the reasons I asked you to accompany me to my chambers is that I didn't want to walk the corridors alone, knowing that some drunk people are in the shadows. With Lucius in Azkaban and Draco at Hogwarts, I have to live alone with those half-wits in my home. I don't want to face them, at least not when they are drunk."

"In several parties, before and after the downfall of Dark Lord, I saw that you spent a long time with some of them when they were drunk and you didn't seem to care that they were drunk. Now, what has changed so dramatically?" Severus asked conversationally, sarcasm leaking from his every word.

Narcissa filled her glass again with wine that elves brought to her chambers and start sipping at it and looking at the fire in the hearth. "That was different. Then, I was Mrs. Malfoy, lady of Malfoy Manor, wife of Lucius Malfoy, a very powerful and influential person in Wizarding World, one of Dark Lord inner circle, and the highest ranking of one of the oldest and purest family."

If Severus wasn't supposed to sympathize with her and listen to _his friend_ confabulate, he surely would have rolled his eyes at this.

"Every man dreaming to spend time with me... everything was in my hands." She didn't seem to answering Severus' question anymore; it was as if she were remembering what her life had been like and describing it aloud. "Everything I wanted, I only had to name it and it would be mine, but now I'm wife of a criminal in prison, and a disgrace in Dark Lord's ranks. Those fools treat me like their servant now that Dark Lord lets them do anything they want in this Manor." It seemed now that Narcissa had started speaking, she simply couldn't stop it. The only time she stopped was when she was taking generous sips from her wine. "Draco being absent just makes it worse; during the summer when he was home they behaved better. Not that I think they were afraid of him, no, but they just behaved better." She finished talking and put her glass aside, leaned forward and put her face in her hands. They stayed like this for some time; Narcissa with her face in her hands while Severus drank his wine and stared at the fire, both in deep thought.

~Page Break~

In the library, Yaxley sat on one of couches facing the hearth deep in thought and Goyle was pacing about while drinking his second glass. He was angry because tonight he had been in the center of their Lord's _attention and kindness_.

"He isn't who he was not any more. Instead of going out and drawing those Mudbloods and Mudblood-lovers out of their holes and making them pay, we are mostly hiding or doing pointless things for him while he is practically killing us! He is mad, really mad and it was Lucius and the others' fault that everyone now knows he has returned, NOT US!" he roared, throwing his glass toward a sofa near a wall that was covered from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. It smashed on the floor between the sofa and bookshelves, its content covered floor.

As if smashing glass has increased his wrath, he walked to table with three long strides and picked the wine bottles up and threw them in same direction one after another. When he finished, there was wine everywhere, on the books and bookshelves, the furniture, and spreading across the floor.

"Better?" Yaxley asked;he didn't wait for an answer and continued, "Although, I don't see the point in breaking these bottle and wasting such an expensive and delicious wine,", he pointed to the shattered bottles, "but I hope it at least made you feel better." He gulped down the rest of his wine. "Let's have another drink and then a good eight hours of sleep. We can think about everything tomorrow morning – Elf!"

Immediately a little creature with dirty loose clothes and big blue eyes popped in front of sofa. They wasn't master of Manor and elves didn't have to answer to their call but all of them feared of what these men and their master could do to a little elf and also they knew no one here raise a finger on their behalf!

"You! Bring us wine, NOW," Yaxley ordered. He still was suffering from after effects of the Cruciatus – even after as much wine as he had drank. It made him angry, and also the Dark Lord's behavior. He wasn't a fool like Goyle to react that way and shout nonsense about the Dark Lord for everyone to hear. He liked his head where it was. He knew one word in the wrong ear, and their Lord would cut off their heads and put them on their chests! But everything from what happened in Ministry, to those blasted tremors in his body, to the Dark Lord's and now Goyle's behavior along with everything else was getting to him. So he didn't hide his rage and disgust that filled his voice while talking to the elf. Who cared how he spoke to a filthy little elf? Perhaps he could hex this elf after it brought them their wine! That way he would feel better and no damage would be done! He was in lost these thoughts and didn't notice that the elf still stood there with wide (more than before, if anyone believed it is possible) eyes and couldn't understand how on earth two wizard can drink eight full bottle in less than forty minutes!

The poor elf unfortunately did what it shouldn't have. "But-" the rest of the elf's sentence was muffled in Goyle's shouts, who in contrast to Yaxley, had been watching the elf with narrowed eyes, waiting for an excuse.

"HOW DARE YOU TO DISOBEY US! YOU FILTHY LITTLE CREATURE!" He fumbled with his wand for a second before he shot spell after spell at the elf that had already started to punish himself. Because of his rage and the wine, his hand was shaking too much to get a good aim at the little elf and instead his spells hit everything else in the room: furniture, books, the floor, and the elf. Some of his explosive spells hit the sofas and flame rose from it. Then like cancer, the fire found its way to the lake of wine on the floor and from there to the bookshelves.

"See what you did! You fool unworthy elf!" Goyle yelled at the elf that was now writhing on the ground because of the spell that it had been hit by.

"Don't say nonsense Goyle! You made this bed, now lie in it!" Yaxley said standing up and walking quickly to door.

"Wait! I don't know how to put out this fire!" Goyle shouted running after Yaxley. The house elf stood rather shakily and disappeared with a pop.

Goyle reached Yaxley and asked anxiously, "What are we going to do?"

Yaxley sent him a side glance and snapped, "I said we can think about it in morning."

"No, I mean the library" Goyle slurred. "What are we going to do about it?"

"Me? Nothing! I'm going to my chambers to sleep. You? I don't know. But if I were you, I would inform Narcissa of the accident and then go to my chamber and sleep peacefully. However, I think that that worthless house elf will inform her anyway, so why don't you retreat to your room and forget anything's happened," he said calmly. Goyle had always looked at to Malfoy for what he should do, but now that he was in Azkaban and had fallen in Dark Lord's eyes, he looked at anyone who seemed intelligent enough to tell him what he should do. In this case, that person was Yaxley. So he went to his chamber as if nothing had happened. Soon after their departure the fire spread from on book to another book and from one bookshelf to others. Within seconds all of the library was on fire.

~Page Break~

After some minutes in silence, Narcissa picked up her head from its place in her hands and looked at Severus.

"How is he? Is he alright?" she asked nervously. Severus knew exactly who she is talking about.

"Draco is fine, Narcissa. Don't worry, he is safe at Hogwarts"

She leaned back in her seat. "I know, but I just can't stop worrying for about him. He is just a child and knowing what he is about to do, knowing its consequences, I just can't stop worrying! Because I know he won't succeed Severus; he can't do it and then he must pay consequences," At this point, she was near tears.

"I took Unbreakable vow to protect him and I intend to do exactly that. If you don't trust me with the task, you should go to another!" He said in no more than a whisper. He knew that everyone was either too drunk to comprehend what they were saying or had passed out. But he couldn't take a chance; even the walls and objects had eyes and ears.

"I trust you Severus; I just wish we hadn't been in this place from the start. I want to have my husband by my side and know that there is no danger threatening my only child. The Dark Lord with all of his beliefs and orders can go to hell." Severus narrowed his eyes slightly; her manner was strange. They learnt never to say such treacherous words aloud! Either Narcissa was extremely desperate to save her family (and she knew that he wouldn't say anything, not out of concern and friendship for them, but out of self-preservation) or it was a trap to test his loyalty.

Lucius and Narcissa were Severus's friend from their school years (when Severus started at Hogwarts, Lucius was in his seventh year and Narcissa was in her sixth, and even after their graduation, they had kept contact with Severus for reasons only known to themselves) and spying on them was always was one of the hardest things he had to do. He needed to push his guilt over doing this aside; he should be acting around them in ways that a real friend would, but at the same time watch his back and play his role as a loyal Death Eater. Most of the time it wasn't very easy at all! All these thoughts caused Severus to choose his next word carefully. "Now is not time for this. I'm sure everything will be fine and when all of this has ended you will laugh at your present thoughts and worries," he said smoothly.

The most complicated issue in the Dark Lord's service that you never got used to is that you never knew when your friends were willing to suffer in your place, when they would make you suffer saving themselves or simply moving higher into his ranks.

"Perhaps-" whatever Narcissa began to say was interrupted by a house elf that suddenly appeared before them with a pop. "I'm sorry my lady, but library is on fire…"


	2. Just The Dead Are Unsaveable

**Disclaimer**: I'll say you this much, I'm not J. K. Rowling!

**Rate**: Rated T just to be safe  
**Summary**: Every one was pawn in the chess game of Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen if this pawns decide to take matters in their own hand? What if they had their own planing? What will happen when their plans make conflict with others? Rated to be safe...  
**Warning:** There is possibility of violence, bloodshed, and drug abuse in future, not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!  
**A/N**: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and added this to their story alert. And thanks to Alethea27 and little-Medium-sized for their help to edit my mistakes! I hope you enjoy! R&R

And Moi, you guessed wrong! My first language is neither a Slavic one nor a Romanian one! :P

* * *

**Just The Dead Are Unsaveable**

By Saramagician

**Chapter 2:** Just The Dead Are Unsaveable

"_Now is not the time for this. I'm certain everything will be fine, and when all of this has ended, you will laugh at your present thoughts and worries," he said smoothly._

_The most complicated issue in the Dark Lord's service that one never gets used to is that one never knows if your "friends" are willing to suffer in your place. Or when they would make you suffer, saving _

_themselves just to move higher in __**his**__ ranks._

"_Perhaps-" whatever Narcissa was going to say was interrupted by a house elf that suddenly appeared before them with a pop. "I'm sorry my lady, but the library is on fire…"_

* * *

Severus and Narcissa rushed out of the door and within minutes they were standing in front of the library. "Tissy!" Narcissa called, staring with wide eyes at the fire. The same elf that had informed them about the fire appeared with a pop immediately. Narcissa didn't take her eyes from the library – Severus could see the reflection of the flames in her eyes. Very much like the flames of anger that was burning within her.

"What happened?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Masters… they got angry…" the elf started punishing herself as she was stammering.

"Stop it! And explain – _clearly – _what happened…. AND THOSE IDIOTS ARE NOT YOUR MASTERS!" Narcissa snapped forcefully; the anger was now evident in her voice.

"They wanted more wine and when Tissy didn't obey immediately, they started to hex everything, and the library caught fire. Tissy is very sorry, Lady." The small house elf rambled clearly, heeding her mistress's request.

Narcissa shot a look at Severus that said, 'What did I tell you!' Turning back to the flames and then to the house elf, she asked in a whisper, "Who?"

"Mr. Yaxley and Mr. Goyle," the little house elf answered fearfully.

Narcissa looked back at the library and ordered with an emotionless tone, "You will put your hands in boiling water for creating such a mess and you will-"

"Is that necessary?" Severus asked, cutting her off. Narcissa looked at him sharply.

"Are you questioning my actions?" she inquired with narrowed eyes, "I'm Lady of this manor and I will deal with my elves as I see fit."

Severus couldn't help but roll his eyes and said in an irritated tone, "No, Narcissa, all I'm saying is that there is no need to take your anger out on this elf even if you can't do anything to those half-wits that created this mess."

Narcissa stared at him a moment longer before she sighed. She turned to Tissy and said, "You can go now, there is no need for you to punish yourself." She then looked at Severus with an 'Are you satisfied?' look on her face. Tissy didn't stay a second longer, fearing that her mistress would change her mind.

Severus looked up and down the corridor; there was no sign of Yaxley or Goyle. _"Can't expect more from those cowards," _he mused. He drew his wand and casted several spells over the fire, but it didn't change. "It isn't a magical fire," he said with a frown. _"What were they thinking, playing with fire in a library full of flammable substances?" _He thought and then said aloud, "We can't put the fire out with water as it will ruin the books that haven't already been ruined. What do you suggest?"

"If they have been damaged then they are most likely beyond repair and there is nothing a little water could do to worsen their condition. Let's just get this over with," she drew her wand and together they shouted, "Aguamenti!" Clear jets of water burst from the tips of their wands on onto the fire.

After some time, the fire went out and all that remained was smoke, soot, wet, burned books and furniture. With just an exchanged look, the witch and the wizard stepped into the destroyed library, barely able to see a few feet in front of their faces because of the smoke lingering in the air. They quickly waved their wands and the air became clear once more, with another wave in the same manner the library was embraced with light. With another look at each other they slowly made their way towards the bookshelves.

"The sofa, table, and other furniture were ancient and expensive, but they are able to be replaced," she said while staring almost sadly at the books. "But… but those books were rare, some of them were the only existing copy. Most of them were the oldest books that could be found in the Wizarding World. This collection of books was one of the things that the Malfoy's were always proud of.

"I know that they had several preserving charms on them to keep them safe from many different kinds of damage, including magical fire and water – that's why I said that water couldn't worsen their condition – but I don't think very many of them had preserving charms against non-magical fire. Why would they? Lucius thought that Muggles couldn't invent anything that could harm us."

Severus tried his best not to snort at this declaration, _"You have no idea just how harmful Muggles can be to us, especially to those who underestimate them." _He thought to himself.

"What were those _idiots_ thinking? Why, in Merlin's name, would they set fire to the library?" she turned towards Severus, fuming with rage, and in the light that he and Narcissa created, he could see her face turning redder and redder. For Lady Malfoy who was never without her cold, emotionless, mask, it was a new sight.

"_It must be a deep wound to the Malfoy pride," _he thought. Severus was upset too, but for an entirely different reason than the Malfoy pride being wounded once again. Even though he was supposed to be Narcissa's friend, he couldn't help but watch in amusement as she acted like a two-year-old… not that he could blame her. If some dunderheaded Death Eater set fire to _his_ library, the idiot would be the one to clean it up and restore it.

He knew that the only thing left for her was to have a reason to be snotty towards others and be able to look down upon them. And that was why she was angry. In a span of just a few minutes she had lost her last viable reasons to look down her nose at the other Wizarding families.

He turned away from her and looked at the room in general, searching for anything that would indicate why a fire had started in the library when the dimwitted Death Eaters obviously couldn't have started it with magic. Something across the room caught his eye, and he slowly made his way towards it. There was certainly something laying on the floor; something that the flames hadn't converted into a pile of ashes as they had for several books. It was covered in soot no surprise as the entire library was covered with the sticky black residue. Judging by its shape, it wasn't something one would normally find in a library.

He knelt on one knee and reached for the object intending to pick it up. Just as his fingers brushed it, he jerked his hand away, because it was still rather hot and he cut his middle finger in the process. After that, he could simply guess what it was. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and used it to pick up the broken glass. Careful, he cleaned the soot off of it and without a doubt, it was a piece of a broken wine bottle. "Seems to me like someone wasn't fond of their drink, and decided to dispose of it," he said sardonically as he slowly turned his head and looked Narcissa in the eye.

In a second, she was standing at his side and looking at the broken bottle in his hand. Severus stood up and handed her the glass carefully, mindful of how sharp the glass could be. "That would explain why the fire wasn't magical," he muttered more to himself than to her.

"That's why they wanted more wine; they had broken what they had!" she was muttering, her anger flaring again. "These wines are elf wine, the best and most expensive wine! If they had bought the wine themselves, they would never have wasted it!"

Severus knew that if he didn't stop her soon, she would never stop. And there was still the possibility of the fire coming back to life; with Muggle fires, that was always the case. The smart thing to do was eliminate anything that could possibly start another fire.

"We should separate the books that are burnt from the other and charm them against Muggle fire, should this ever happen again. We should also look out for sparks." He said with a shrug.

"You are right. Let's put the damaged books in a pile near the door so we can get rid of them later," Narcissa said, and then gestured to a spot near her feet, "and put the others here."

Severus was tired and he had classes in the morning to teach. But how could he not help his friends when they needed him? Books. His only friends that he knew would never betray or leave him, no matter what he did or said. Books had been there for him through it all, during the unfairness of his life and the loneliness. No one would ever think that he, Severus Snape, The Great Bat of the dungeons, The Greasy Git and Death Eater could ever be sentimental about anything, let along books. Not that he tried to prove anyone otherwise. But he liked books and respected them. Well, perhaps not all of them, there is books written by idiots like Lockhart. But he respect most of them and on a few different occasions, he had deducted points from any unlucky student that he had caught treating a book badly – they most likely thought that he had done it for no reason, giving the student population more reason to think him as a bastard and greasy git.

Severus had even gone as far as to pull his Slytherins aside and warn them about how they were treating their books, never saying anything of the like to them in front of others, hoping to gain their trust and respect. So, perhaps one day, he could save them from their families and the Dark Lord.

They started their work; it was tiresome and progressed slowly, and Severus knew without magic it would have been worse. It was pre-dawn when they finished. Narcissa thanked him and he acknowledged it with a nod; bidding each other farewell, Severus started towards the door, his cloak billowing behind him. Near the door, he stopped abruptly and looked back around the room. Narcissa was busy with a pile of undamaged books with her back to him and hadn't noticed that he had yet to leave. He had a feeling that he missed something here, and he didn't know what. His searching eyes fell upon a pile of burnt books; until that moment he hadn't paid attention to the books that he was separating. He hadn't looked at the books that the Malfoys had found important enough to have all sorts of protective charms on them, and the books that they hadn't found worthy enough.

He slowly made his way towards them, all the while thinking that he should be on his way to Hogwarts, getting at least an hour or two of sleep before having to prepare for another day of dealing with dunderheads. But he couldn't help it; the feeling that he had missed something here was still persistent and if it wasn't for same feeling he was dead long before then. He _had _to take a look at some of his friends, before they took their final trip to the trash.

He looked down at an unknown friend on top of a pile; it was a thick book with a badly burnt leather cover. A history book by the feel of it. Severus picked it up and started shuffling through it. Every two or three pages, he would stop and look at the moving pictures or drawings, or he would read a line or two before going on to another page.

One of the moving drawings in the book caught his attention; it was a man with long black hair and black robes standing between two dragons. A white and silvery Frost dragon with penetrating icy blue eyes stood on his left and a bronze and brown Fire dragon with glowing red eyes on his right. The man had a golden lightning sword in one hand and a blood red wand in the other, standing on a cliff, fighting the two dragons. The Frost dragon shot frozen shards of breath at the man and the Fire dragon, while the latter set everything on fire. The man with long black hair then succeeded in throwing the Frost dragon over the edge of the cliff and into the abyss, and when he turned to fight the Fire dragon, he found himself trapped between the gargantuan dragon and the edge of the cliff, facing certain death whichever way he turned. The picture then froze and started over again from the beginning.

Severus stared at the picture, deep in thought, unable to tear his eyes away from it. After some time, he snapped out of his thoughts, shutting the book softly and set aside, looking at the next book his eyes fell on.

It had a thick black cover and half burnt yellow pages. There were no words or any markings that Severus could see on the cover, aside from the places that the fire had ravaged. He opened the book and looked at the inside cover, finding a title:

"Just the Dead Are Unsaveable"

Advanced Healing Magic for Advanced Wizards

He read it again, and again, his mind working furiously, trying to decipher what this could mean. Suddenly a tiny candle of hope lit in his stone heart. Could it be possible? Could his soul be saved? Could-

"Severus! I thought that you had returned to Hogwarts," Narcissa's surprised voice broke his train of thought.

"I should be going," he said while casting a quick glance at the pile of books, two in particular. "Might I take these two books?" He asked, gesturing with his head towards the other book that he had looked at moments ago.

Narcissa looked at Severus with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, "Of course. But what use do those half burned books have?"

He shrugged, "Every now and then curiosity gets the better of me, and as you already said these books are rare and ancient books." Severus said smoothly.

"Okay, take them. If you become curious of any others, please take them." He got the feeling that she was mocking him, but what did he care? "It isn't proper for high level people in society and ancient purebloods like the Malfoys to have half burned books in their library, no matter the quality of what lies within them. We wanted to throw them away, anyways."

After several years of calling the Slytherin dormitories his home and living amongst Death Eaters, Severus was used to hearing this kind of dialect. But what really caught his attention were the last few words Narcissa said. What did she mean by "we"? It wasn't like Narcissa had anyone else in her house except those idiots who had started the fire. He didn't say anything and put her comment away to muse over later when he had more time. He had far too much to do already, and he seriously doubted that he had enough time to waste on what Narcissa Malfoy had said… but he was still curious

With a sharp nod and a "'till later" he left the library in three long strides, not wanting to stay there any longer than necessary. After exiting the manor and striding confidently past the iron wrought gates and the Anti-Apparition wards, he spun on the spot and disapparated.


	3. A cursed ring, a cursed necklace, next?

Happy Birthday Severus

**Disclaimer**: I know it'll be very surprising, but I don't own Harry Potter!

**Rate**: Rated T just to be safe  
**Summary**: Every one was pawn in the chess game of Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen if this pawns decide to take matters in their own hand? What if they had their own planing? What will happen when their plans make conflict with others? Rated to be safe...  
**Warning:** There is possibility of violence, bloodshed, and drug abuse in future, not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!  
**A/N**: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and added this to their story alert. And thanks to Alethea27 and little-Medium-sized for their help to edit my mistakes! I hope you enjoy! R&R

* * *

**Just The Dead Are Unsaveable**

By Saramagician

**Chapter 3:** First a cursed ring, second a cursed necklace, third…?

Severus worked hard to gain this free period for himself, to study his newly acquired books from Narcissa. He had been very busy recently: teaching classes, his Head of House duties, spying for the Order, keeping an eye on Draco and trying to find out what his plan is, brewing potions for Dark Lord, the Order and the infirmary, grading essays. He found little time to sleep and eat, let alone study.

But it was important; he wanted to read the book he had brought back from Malfoy Manor nearly a month ago, in hopes of finding something that could save his poor soul. So, he had planned a week ago for this opportunity, he worked throughout the night on potions for the Dark Lord and infirmary. He succeeded in finishing all of them before dawn. (It was a wonder how he managed to brew seventeen different potions at the same time, all without exploding even one of them!). He also had to invent a new potion for the Dark Lord, but at not today. He would accept the consequences.

Severus then started grading his students' essays and completed all of them except his seventh years' work in no time. Most of the younger students didn't even try to write something decent for their potion essays. he was thankful for that; it made his work so much easier, he didn't need to put in as much time to read what they wrote.

But his seventh years were another story. Not only did they put in time, effort, and actually studied the topic before they wrote their essay, they also experimented and even invented new methods and potions for their essay! So he always set aside more time to read them, and graded them with more patience and care. He didn't have time to do so right now; he would look at them tomorrow.

There weren't any classes today, and he had already finished his work that needed to be done (as he had planned). So he had free time on his hands, the first free time he had had in a while! He wouldn't have to deal with any dunderheads, any exploding cauldrons, any unwanted visitors, or any trouble makers, and no bragging Slytherins!

Now don't misunderstand. Severus liked his Slytherins and always tried to help, support, and protect them. He tried to do the things which no one had bothered to do for him! But for now he had so much on his hands, so in his eyes, they were downright annoying. Their needs and requests just seemed unnecessary! At one point, he considered pricking himself with his Basilisk's tooth and get it over with!

Almost all of the students went to Hogsmeade today and with all of the Aurors Albus had asked for to protect them, there was no need for him to go. He simply couldn't understand why the dunderheads would want to go out in this weather instead of staying in their Common Rooms.

After Severus finished organizing papers and the other things on his desk, he went to his warm chamber, took some toast and bacon from the ridiculous amount of food the Hogwarts' elves had brought him for breakfast. They did that on a regular basis as he hardly cared to go to Great Hall for breakfast.

With a mug of warm coffee in one hand and the book he wanted to read for quite some time in the other, he sat in his favorite wing chair near the fireplace. Severus opened the cover of the half burned book, took a quick glance at title, and then went straight for first chapter. He started to read the method in the chapter, the theories behind it, and a few other theories that never had been proven. The book was fascinating! The methods that were in it were very simple, but useful and powerful if you knew how to correctly use them.

Severus couldn't hide his enthusiasm, not that he even tried; it had been long time since he had read such good book. The methods in the first chapter were simple, but the spells behind them were very challenging and complex, unlike the new scientific books which were now sold in bookstores. Some of the top authors in Britain used to be his students and if their essays were anything to go by, there must be loads of nonsense in their books.

He always enjoyed reading, especially in his Hogwarts quarters. It was warm and cozy; the

sound of logs cracking in the fireplace – which was the only other sound in the room – was very relaxing. It was in moments like this that he thought he was finally at peace. Moments, when he forgot about war, his duty, his guilt, Lily, Potter, and everything else; moments when he just enjoyed the present time, the silence, the warmness, and the books.

But like always his peace didn't last for long; someone started to pound on the door of his office. He suppressed a groan and walked towards the hidden door which connected his office and chambers and then from there to his outside office door. As the poundings become louder, he increased his pace, in fear that his office door would be broken down. With every heavy thud on his door his irritation increased.

He opened the door and there stood Filch with his right hand up in the air ready to pound and a red and gold scarf in his left hand. The scarf seemed to be wrapped around something and Filch was carrying it in a way like it was burning him.

"Professor McGonagall asked me to deliver this to you. She said to that you shouldn't touch it!" The caretaker said, holding the scarf in a way so whatever was inside it wouldn't touch him.

"What is in it?" Severus asked, eyeing the scarf warily.

"Like I would know; I'm just the messenger! I saw Professor McGonagall at castle entrance, ushering Potter and his gang of friends in." '_Potter again_,' Severus thought to himself. "When I came to catch those trouble makers she said that they were with her and then took this-" Filch gestured toward the package in his hand, "from Potter, gave it to me and said to deliver it to you and NOT to touch what's in it and to carry it with the scarf." After finishing with his tale, he thrust forward his hand holding the package toward Severus.

Severus huffed while slipping his wand from the sleeve of his coat to his right hand and Levitated the package from Filch's hand. Filch hadn't said anything else and he just stood there staring at the package in the air as if he had never seen anyone performing magic before.

"Anything else?" Severus asked in an annoyed tone that brought Filch out of his thoughts.

"No Professor, good day." He said and went from there with such speed that was unbelievable.

"A little late for that," Severus murmured, closing the door behind him. "Again, Mr. Potter, you succeeded in ruining my day!" He said and put the package on his desk.

For the first time, he noticed the Dark Magic which was radiating from whatever was inside of the scarf. He unraveled it with his wand and looked at the necklace, his eyes widening with recognition. He had seen that necklace in Borgin and Burkes.

'What was Draco thinking? He knew they would be searching everyone! What did he want to do?' Severus's mind was racing. Another thought popped in his head '_If Draco gets caught red-handed, the Dark Lord's and Albus' plans would be ruined_! _And then I wouldn't have to kill him!'_ He didn't know if it was good thing or not as their only hope to win the war was Albus' plan. '_No Dumbledore's plan. I must detach myself from him if I'm going to kill him!'_ He thought snidely to himself. 'Perhaps there is another way, to do it! You just haven't found it yet!' a voice said in his head.

He shook his head and thought about the idea of Draco getting caught, again. If it became reality, it would cost him his life as he hadn't yet fulfilled his Vow. But the thought of his soul not getting shattered by a cold blooded murder was very tempting. He even thought of setting a trap for Draco so everything would be revealed. He shook his head. '_It is not the time for day dreaming,_' he scolded himself. '_I should be finding out how this necklace had gotten into Potter's hands_.'

He cast spell after spell, trying to determine the exact type of its Dark Magic on the cursed necklace and what its purpose was. When he saw the results from the last spell he had woven around the necklace, he stopped casting and cursed under his breath. 'The spreading type of magic! Really what that idiot was thinking!'

A voice in his head interfered. '_The boy probably even doesn't know the difference between a Dark spell and a Dark flow*_!'

Severus sighed, "First, a cursed ring… and then a cursed necklace… Merlin save us from the third!" He said in a whisper.

Another thought hit him hard and his eyes widened in horror. 'What if someone had touched th_is necklace? Like Potter's friends_!' He quickly dismissed the last part as he remembered what Filch had said. They certainly were with Potter and Minerva, and if they had touched the necklace they would already be under Poppy's care.

He knew if anyone had touched it, with every passing moment, their situation would get worse and if it wasn't stopped in time, the damage would be permanent. '_Like Albus_' a voice said in his head.

He cursed the heir of the ancient and pureblooded family of Malfoy again and made his way towards the Floo. If anyone had been hurt, they would be in the infirmary so he would check there first. He took a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the flames, stepped through it, and vanished into the green flames.

When he emerged from the infirmary's fireplace he heard hysterical voices and the sound of heels on the infirmary tiles that moved hurriedly from one place to another.

He stood in the door frame to Poppy's office and saw Minerva to go back and forth between a bed and the potion store room while Poppy, standing over the bed, was waving her wand frantically over the person and was talking to herself in hysterical tone of voice.

The steadiness in Minerva's voice belied the fear that was showing on her face; she had perspiration running down her forehead. When she spotted him at door frame, relief filled her face. She quickened her pace and made her way toward him. "Thank Merlin, you're here Severus! Come! It seems nothing works and the blackness in her hand is spreading." With that she turned around and ran towards the bed, Severus close behind her.

When he reached the bed, he saw there were dozens of empty half on the nightstand, a glove on the ground, and a limp body on the bed; other than that, there was nothing else different from other beds.

He walked forward slowly and stood beside the bed. Poppy quickly stepped aside as soon as she noticed he was there. He looked at the black fingers and sighed. '_There is still time to save her. If it is stopped in time there won't be any after effect or incurable damage_,' he thought to himself.

He drew his wand and cast several spell to be certain of her condition. When he was assured that it hadn't spread all that much - unlike Albus - he cast several other spells to control and slow its spreading, then he turned towards the office again.

"Wait! You hadn't healed her yet!" Minerva called to him from the end of the bed.

He turned his head sideways, but didn't stop walking. "I'm no healer and I can't heal her!" He couldn't say anymore, as Poppy's voice came from same direction.

"So you want to leave her like this?" The matron asked.

He stopped and turned around facing them completely. "No. I cast several spells to control and slow the curse's flow, but to heal her I need a potion to stop it from spreading and several others to stabilize her. After that I can do no more, she must be transferred to St. Mungo's." He Flooed to his office without waiting for their answer.

He made his way toward his personal store and start searching for the needed potions. After a while he stopped and sighed. He was almost certain that he had one more vial of the potion he used on Albus to stop the curse from spreading, but he couldn't find it. He put his shaky hands on the shelf, leaned forward, and rested his head against it, and took a deep breath. _'It is not the time to lose your head. She isn't going to be like Albus, She will get well, then return to her Gryffindor friends and will annoy you in Potion's class. Again and again_,' he thought.

He took one last deep breath and lifted his forehead from the shelf, brought his Occlumency shields up, and started searching for the potion again. Within minutes he had found what he needed and headed back towards the Hospital Wing. He decided to walk instead of Flooing to have some much needed time to calm his frazzled nerves completely.

The corridors were cold and almost empty. '_So the students haven't heard about the incident, yet_…' he thought as he quickened his pace.

When he entered Hospital Wing, he was met with Poppy and Minerva's whitened faces. Poppy came his way, "Thanks Heavens you're here, I thought you weren't going to come!"

"What is the matter?" Severus asked. It would take a Mountain Troll to scare the two witches as much as they were now. He knew something was wrong.

"The curse started spreading again and it is spreading faster than before." Poppy said and waited to see Severus's reaction. He shouted every curse he knew in his mind, but outside his face was as emotionless as a stone. He walked quickly towards the bed. '_The spell should stop it, it must be more powerful than I thought_' he thought gravely.

When he reached the bed, he started to work immediately; he ordered Minerva to hold Kati's head upright so he could pour the potion without her choking on it as that would just make the situation worse. He started the procedure of pouring the potions down her trachea, incanting, and waving his wand at Kati's hand. He was in full control of his emotions and kept his Occlumency shields at their strongest so he wouldn't have to deal with the déjà vu of the scene in front of him. He knew the only thing he should be focusing on was saving the life and hand of the Gryffindor in front of him.

After what seemed like forever, but was only several hours, he stopped chanting the incantation. Sweat was running down his forehead and his back was stiff from remaining in a bowed position for that long. After he administrated some healing and strength potions he deemed her stable enough to be transferred to St. Mungo's.

He had no intention of waiting for the escort from St. Mungo's so he made his way toward the Floo in Poppy's office until Poppy's voice stopped him. "Severus, will she be alright?" Her voice wasn't as panicky now, but it wasn't by any means calm.

Severus turned around. "I'm sure she'll be alright, St. Mungo's have very good healers. They know what to do."

"You know what I mean! There won't be any permanent damage, will there?" Poppy asked as she walked towards him.

"How would I know? You know full well that I'm not a healer!" Severus said, sounding irritated.

"Severus Snape, answer me! You are an expert in Dark Arts and surely you would know if there will be any permanent damage or not!" Poppy said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Severus sighed, "If they succeed in removing the curse without removing the block I put on, no. There won't be anything major. She'll have some problems with her hand, but she'll still be able to use it."

"And if they don't succeed?" Poppy questioned not really wanting to know his answer.

"If they remove my block before removing the curse completely, they will have to amputate her hand." Poppy gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

After a word of farewell, Severus Flooed back to his chamber. The clock showed that it was dinner time, but he was too tired to go to Great Hall, not to mention he was not the least bit hungry. He picked up his book, that was still on the table, went into his bedroom, took a shower, and changed into his nightclothes. He ordered a mug of milk as he was thirsty and sat in the middle of his four poster bed with the book in his hand and started reading. An hour later he was fast sleep with the book still clutched in his hand.

* * *

* Dark flow is the same as a Dark spell, it is just used in wand-less magic! The Dark flow is my own invention, or at least I think it is! *grin*


	4. Before the raid

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did...I think you can guess what would happen!

**Rate**: Rated T just to be safe  
**Summary**: Every one was pawn in the chess game of Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen if this pawns decide to take matters in their own hand? What if they had their own planing? What will happen when their plans make conflict with others? Rated to be safe...  
**Warning:** There is possibility of violence, bloodshed, and drug abuse in future, not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!  
**A/N**: Thanks everyone who reviewed, favorited, added this story to their story alert, or just read this story! I love you guys! And thanks to Alethea27 and little-Medium-sized for their help to edit my story! I hope you enjoy! R&R

* * *

**Just The Dead Are Unsaveable**

By Saramagician

**Chapter 4:** Before the raid

Severus knew it was a risk. He was supposed to be in his chambers resting and healing his wounds until midnight, so that he would be ready for the 'fun'. He knew Dark Lord suspected him and wants to be sure that he was still loyal to the cause. Yet here he was, making his way toward number twelve Grimmauld Place to alert the Order. The wounds on his side hurt like hell. Still he was practically running, in hope that he could inform them quickly and then get some much needed rest before the raid.

He tried to not think about his shaky legs, in fear that the moment he thought about them, they give out under him. When he reached Order headquarters, he opened the door so hurriedly that it slammed against the wall, making a thunderous sound which in turn made Mrs. Black to start screaming insults from her portrait. But Severus took no notice of either of them. He opened the kitchen door and was met with all the members of Order, standing, with their wand pointed at him. At that moment he felt as his legs go weak and knew it wouldn't be long before he tasted the floor so he grabbed the door frame for support. The Order members brought their wands down at the sight of this, but no one sat down, as they knew Severus had come from a Death Eater meeting and something happened at it. Obviously it was nothing good for their spy for him come back to them looking like that.

"There will be raid at midnight," Severus rasped. "On one of the Muggle villages in Chelmsford."

"How many Death Eater will join in the raid?" asked Moody always practical and to the point.

"The Inner Circle and some others; it shouldn't be more than twenty-two or twenty-three" answered Severus, out of breath.

"Do you know the village name?" asked Albus calmly from the head of the table.

Severus shook his head. 'Why does he think everyone speaks in riddles like he does especially at times like this?' He thought. Aloud he said, "The Dark Lord hadn't thought it necessary to inform me of the whereabouts of the raid. I found it out this from one of the Death Eaters." He turned to leave, but stopped upon hearing Albus' voice again, and turned around to face the kitchen once more.

"Severus, stay and rest a little and we will plan something! I know you have work to do at Hogwarts, but …"

Anything more Albus wanted to say remained unsaid as Severus cut him off. "I'm supposed to be at Malfoy Manor right now," Severus snapped. "The Dark Lord wants me to participate in this blasted raid." He said last sentence with as much disdain as he could muster. Then he turned and limped towards the main door.

He was several steps away from the door when a sharp pain shot through his wound and up his spine. He tried to catch the wall to steady himself, but it was too late. He sank to his knees holding his wound with his right hand. Then there was a hand on his shoulder that nearly made him take out his wand and attack the owner of the hand.

He quickly turned his head and came with face to face with Albus who was looking at him worriedly.

'Great! The last person I wanted to see me in this situation,' Severus thought snidely.

"Severus, are you alright?" Albus asked while helping him stand back up.

Severus leaned against the wall so he wouldn't fall again and gave a short nod to the headmaster and turned to leave. Albus took his arm and turned him back around.

"What happened to you?" Albus asked.

Severus, like a student that had been caught out of bed after curfew, looked down and said in no more than a whisper "Nothing".

"Severus…" Albus warned.

Severus sighed. "Albus, I really should go before …"

Now it was the headmaster's turn to cut off the other. "Then the sooner you tell me, the sooner you can get back there," Albus said in a tone that Severus knew there was no changing the old man's mind.

He sighed and started explaining, "After returning, the Dark Lord didn't trust me as he used to. Last year, I had told him that you hadn't reformed the Order and he blinked and there was a fully formed Order! Not to mention he thinks I alerted the Order about Potter vanishing from the school!"

"Does he have any evidence or proof?" Albus inquired, stroking his ridiculously long beard.

"Do you think I'd still be here if he knew for certain?" Severus asked caustically. "He simply doesn't trust me anymore, headmaster, and I seem to be spending more time behind the business end of his wand than not." He paused for a moment before continuing, "And somehow he found out that I had saved Katie Bell, and he was furious with the fact that I saved a Gryffindor."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Albus demanded, piercing his spy with a stern look as he would with a student in trouble.

"As if you would care!" snarled Severus in low bitter tones.

"Severus," Albus said quickly, "Of course I care about you!" He was utterly shocked that the Potion's Master could think such a thing.

"Obviously not enough to ask someone else to kill you," Severus spat angrily, his eyes flashing. He wasn't angry with Albus, not right now. But his side was throbbing painfully, and as every second passed his chances of surviving the night shrunk, and the old coot was doing nothing but delaying him. Everything on Severus's mind added up was making him very short tempered, and he was by no means a patient man to start with.

Albus looked toward kitchen door to see if anyone was in earshot of Severus outbursts or not. Then turned toward Severus with sad eyes, and said, "We have discussed this before, Severus." He sighed. "Promise me, Severus! Promise me, you won't hide something like this from me again," Albus said in a sad voice.

Severus looked at those sad blue orbs and felt guilty for his outburst. He looked down at his feet and sighed; he would apologize in length later, but right now he needed to leave. He knew that he shouldn't have come to alert them, but he couldn't send his Patronus with the message without eliminating what little trust the Dark Lord had in him. He opened his mouth and shut it once before he said, "I-I am sorry, headmaster."

Albus placed his healthy hand reassuringly on his former student's shoulder. "I know Severus," Albus said with a twinkle in his blue eyes, which then turned sharp, "From now, no more secrets on your end." Albus said in firm yet gentle and kind voice.

"You have enough on your hands, old man! And with that curse destroying your body you should be resting and letting others take some responsibility! You shouldn't overexert yourself needlessly. You have far too many things on your mind, and I don't need to be added to that. You know very well that I can handle myself!" Severus said in a You're-An-Old-Coot-And-I-Refuse-To-Listen-You-And-I-Do-What-I-Bloody-Well-Want tone. That confirmed Albus' suspicions that he wouldn't tell him anything of the sort in the future. Albus promised himself that he would watch Severus more closely from now on.

Severus hands started shaking and he was looking unnaturally pale which caused a new wave of worry hit Albus. "Do you think you can go back there in this condition? Albus asked. Severus nodded and turned to go.

"Wait! You said he wanted you to participate in the raid. How does he expect you to when you're in this condition?" He gestured toward Severus's wound where he was holding his side.

"I'm supposed to be healing my wound and resting at Malfoy Manor right now," Severus said quietly. And stab of pain made him shut his eyes and grind his teeth.

"Are you sure you can make it to there?" Albus asked almost hysterical; that was something as rare as seeing a gytrash during the day.

Severus nodded again, not daring to say a word because he couldn't trust his voice at this point. He turned towards the door and went out.

'You are the one who is overexerting yourself, my boy! You took so much responsibility upon your shoulders… more so than anyone should handle! I only wish there was another way for all of this!' Albus thought to himself.

Severus moved quickly towards the wards around the current Order headquarters. Well, he moved as fast as anyone could with cursed wounds in their side, which wasn't any faster than an old elephant. And he was angry – no, seething – at everything right now as was his wont.

'How could they be so foolish? Putting the entire burden of the war on Albus' shoulders! The headmaster might be a powerful wizard, but he is still human! As human as the next person down the line! They've left everything to him, the daft idiots! Because of this, the curse will not only spread through his already weakened body quicker, but when he… dies… everyone opposing the Dark Lord will fall apart completely! Sure, Minerva is a strong woman and powerful witch, but she isn't Albus.'

"She's too honest and kind to be as manipulative as the headmaster always has been," a voice said in his head. Severus shook his head and shoved that voice out of his head and continued his musings where he had left off.

'The Order is full of fools who carry their hearts on their sleeve! And they care far too much for the headmaster, and will be absolutely devastated when I kill him…. What makes him think they can continue without him? He is worse off than my first year students if he thinks they'll continue on in this war as if nothing happened! I swear that curse has affected his brain! Then again, he had shown signs of this kind of madness before he put that bloody ring on his finger. Perhaps it's his age? But no matter his sanity levels he's still our only hope! We cannot afford to lose him, I can't lose him, neither can the Order, and Merlin forbid his precious Potter lose yet another adult!'

"All more reason to not kill him, and to save him!" again that same voice said in his head. He wanted to snap at it and say that he was trying his best, but he soon remembered that it was a voice in his own head. And that arguing with a voice in your head would result in nothing except complete madness. 'As if I haven't gone mad yet!' He thought.

When he succeed in calming his thoughts and managed to stuff them behind his Occlumency shields, he noticed that he was well out of the wards so he headed for the nearest alley that was dark and narrow. There, he rested with his back against the wall and slid down it. Severus brought a blood-replenish potion and a pain reliever (which were the only potions he had with himself at the moment) out of pocket in his coat and drained both vials. After putting the empty vials in the pocket of his coat; he sat for a moment and caught his breath, and then stood shakily and spun on the spot and apparated.

Severus appeared in a shed in the back yard of Malfoy Manor, and it was too much for his battered body. He fell to the floor with a dull thud and stayed there, grimacing and holding his bloody side. It was in times like these he took advantage of being good friends with the Malfoy's, as only he and the Malfoy family were aware of this little shed which was hidden away on the far edge of their property. And it was only to be used in emergencies; Severus considered this to be an emergency. He sat for a moment to regroup his strength, his breathing ragged, and then he stood and made his way towards the Manor by the underground tunnel joining the two.

When he reached basement he hardly spared a moment to catch his breath and went to the door and placed his hand on door knob, but stopped. He could hear voices from other side of the door that were far too close for his comfort. He couldn't get out without anyone seeing him. Severus was trying to form a plan, when he recognized some of the voices, whose owners should be anywhere but at the Manor at that moment! The Dark Lord had told them that most of the Manor's occupants and other Inner Circle members that didn't live in the Manor (like Severus) would be on the raid. But the voices on the other side of the door were neither in the Inner Circle, nor one of the Manor's occupants. That immediately made Severus think that something was off and he knew what. It had happened before, but it was unlike the Dark Lord to change his plans at the last minute, and it only happened when he suspected one of his Death Eaters of treason. And that was very dangerous.

He quickly put that thought aside. If anyone found out about his absence… well he might as well start digging his grave.

As walking to his room without anyone seeing him was not an option he had to rack his brains to come up with an idea as soon as possible. "Damn that Dumbledore," He swore under his breath. "Why'd you have to keep me held up there?" He shook his head and said, "Think, Severus think."

As Draco's godfather, he was in a way a member of the Malfoy family. And he could remember Lucius said something about the 'traditions' that the Malfoy family upheld. And one of those was a way for the family to escape to a safe place in emergencies so they all had portkeys on them at all times to a room of their choice within the Manor.

Severus loosened his portkey from his wrist and took it in his hand. Just as he was about to place a silencing charm on the door so no one could hear the sound of his leaving, there was a loud crash and sound of laughter from the other side of the door. And once again, Severus wondered how in Merlin's good name they were able to dispel all of the people from the Manor, clean up the messes said people left and the evidence of their stay at the Manor all before Arthur Weasley and a handful of Aurors raided the Manor, searching every nook and cranny.

He casted the silencing charm, held his portkey more firmly in his hand, held his destination firmly in his mind, and said the trigger word. In matter of seconds he was whisked away to his room in the Manor.

Severus wished he hadn't had to use his portkey, as it worked only once and the Head of the Malfoy Family (the only one who could give such portkeys to family) was on a "vacation" for an unseen future in Azkaban. Even if the blonde Pureblood wasn't in prison, Severus knew it would've been difficult fabricating a believable excuse to convince him to make another.

When Severus appeared in the bathroom of his room the first thing he noticed was the muffled sound of pounding on his door and the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange demanding him to open the door. Severus moved quickly toward the bathroom door and opened it to hear better what was happening on the other side of his door.

"What are you doing Bellatrix?" He heard the voice of Dark Lord asking Bellatrix.

"Trying to open this door, My Lord," She answered in a little voice and Severus imagined her shrinking into a corner like a naughty child who had been caught by their parent.

"This is Severus's room, is it not?" He tisked and said, "Breaking down your fellow Death Eater's door is not appropriate, Bella." Voldemort said calmly with a hint of amusement.

"Yes my lord!" She exclaimed hastily, "But he does not answer the door. Who's to say Snivellus hasn't snuck out to warn his Mudblood friends?" Severus could just see her making a face at the word 'Mudblood' but he chased such thoughts away as she continued speaking, "If he hasn't committed such treachery; why does he have wards powerful enough to keep out fellow Death Eaters?"

"We all know that Snape has always been a paranoid person, and anyone would put up a silencing charm just to block out your God-awful voice." This time Severus heard Yaxley's voice say, "Besides, you yourself were standing outside his door not ten minutes after he went inside – I've got to admit that does sound a little like you fancy the Half-blood." Severus could hear both Yaxley and the Dark Lord chuckle at that, and he wisely chose to continue before the crazed witch could get her word in. "How do you expect him to have escaped to tell his Mudblood friends, Bella dear? Surely you don't think he sprouted wings and flew out the window?" Severus let out a breath he had been holding; who knew his savior could take form of an old drunken Death Eater? All he needed now was for the Dark Lord to take faith in Yaxley's words and not investigate further about Bellatrix's suspicions. He then pondered on what Yaxley had said – if Bella had been in front of his room the entire time; he had been extremely lucky not to run into her. And then he cursed his pain ridden brain for not thinking of flying!

The next voice he overheard was the Dark Lord's and he knew that his hoping had been for naught. As always, luck wasn't on his side.

"Yaxley does have a point; our dear Severus never had a chance to leave the Manor! But it won't hurt to check in on our wounded brother, now would it?" He asked casually, which was answered promptly with a chorus of 'Of course not, my Lord'.

Severus's heart dropped to his stomach and his eyes widened, and he knew there was only a matter of minutes before they broke into his room. But there was nothing he could do; he stood frozen in place as he felt his wards being torn down one by one. Even though his wards were strong enough to keep Bellatrix out, the Dark Lord was another story! It wouldn't take him more than five minutes to bring them all down!

He had just enough time to go back in his bathroom and close the door behind him, before they infiltrated his room. He could hear shouts of "traitor" plain as day from inside his room and the Dark Lord's voice was ordering everyone to search everywhere to find him. He prayed that adrenalin would kick in and get his mind moving just enough for him to form a plan before they searched his bathroom.

TBC

What do you think? R&R

This chapter is dedicated to little-Medium-sized!

If you had any idea for my story or found any OCness from characters or some mistake, just PM me or write it in your reviews.


	5. After Effect: Part 1

**Disclaimer**: I own Harry Potter and I'm wealthiest girl in the world! By the way, is anyone interested to buy my tower in New York? _*Still think I own Harry Potter?*_

**Rate**: Rated T just to be safe  
**Summary**: Every one was pawn in the chess game of Voldemort and Dumbledore. But what would happen if this pawns decide to take matters in their own hand? What if they had their own planing? What will happen when their plans make conflict with others? Rated to be safe...  
**Warning:** There is possibility of violence, bloodshed, and drug abuse in future, not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!  
**A/N**: Thanks everyone who reviewed, favorited, added this story to their story alert, or just read this story! I love you guys! And thanks to Alethea27 and little-Medium-sized to make my nonsense more readable! I hope you enjoy! R&R

After BlueWater5, so kindly, pointed out that I didn't explained about why Severus is worry about Voldemort finding him in his bathroom, I read fourth chapter again and saw I indeed never said any reason for that! So, I tried to explain a little in this chapter, I hope you find my reasons convincing!

* * *

**Just The Dead Are Unsaveable**

By Saramagician

**Chapter 5:** After Effect: Part 1

Severus's heart dropped to his stomach and his eyes widened, and he knew there was only a matter of minutes before they broke into his room. But there was nothing he could do; he stood frozen in place as he felt his wards being torn down one by one. Even though his wards were strong enough to keep Bellatrix out, the Dark Lord was another story! It wouldn't take him more than five minutes to bring them all down!

He had just enough time to go back in his bathroom and close the door behind him, before they infiltrated his room. He could hear shouts of "traitor" plain as day from inside his room and the Dark Lord's voice was ordering everyone to search everywhere to find him. He prayed that adrenalin would kick in and get his mind moving just enough for him to form a plan before they searched his bathroom.

He needed a plan. A plan that would explain to Dark Lord as to why he was in his bathroom with his outer Death Eater cloak still on, and why his wounds were still aggravated. He needed

something that would cover his lack of attention to Bellatrix's shouts outside his room and would explain why he hadn't answered her demands for him to open the door. He cursed Dumbledore again for delaying him.

While he wracked his mind for an idea, one came to him. He knew that it was utter madness, but he could think of nothing else and his time was quickly fading. Severus practically tore his outer cloak off of him – wincing at the pain his hurried movements evoked – and threw it on the edge of his bathtub.

Then he fell to his knees heavily, drew his wand and pointed it at his own chest. He hesitated for only a moment, and the loud and unfriendly voices outside his door made up his mind for him. Severus braced himself for that pain he knew was coming, and then said the spell softly. The pain that tore through his body wasn't the worst he had ever felt, but he certainly didn't enjoy it as one might while being tickled. He watched almost emotionless as the blood gushed once more from his wounds and began pooling around him on the once pristine white floor.

After several seconds he began to feel light headed and knew he wouldn't stay conscious for long.

Drunkenly, Severus smeared the blood that was on the floor around, so that it seemed a little less fresh. Then he slowly and carefully lay down, hoping that he was being as quiet as he thought he was. The cold floor was very much welcome against his feverish face, but not as much against his wounds. His body was already cold enough from his loss of blood and the floor wasn't doing him any favors in that department. His last coherent thought was that if the Dark Lord didn't buy his staged scene; he had better not wake up ever again. With the terrifying world that he lived securely shut out on the other side of his eyelids, Severus embraced the darkness that claimed him.

*~ Guess What? This is a Page Break ~*

Tom M. Riddle a.k.a. Lord Voldemort wasn't a very patient man, not to a great scale, especially when he was angry – like now. After his return, he couldn't trust Severus any more, but lack of any evidence against him and his great need for Severus' skills – in potions and spells – made him not want to act on his suspicions. Once more Bella was right!

Currently, he was sitting in his chair, in his room in Malfoy Manor waiting for news on the traitor and planning on revenge. He would show that traitor why no one should ever cross Lord Voldemort and if they did, they would come to regret it! Yes, Severus would regret that he ever stepped foot into this world. He would make sure of that. A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts. "Enter," he said lazily.

Goyle came in and bowed. "My Lord, we found him."

Voldemort was at the door in a blink. "Show the way," he ordered. Goyle bowed again and led the way. Voldemort soon found himself at the corridor near Severus' room. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Severus's room is in this corridor, isn't it?"

"It is, My Lord."

"And why, pray tell, are you taking me back to this room? Especially since my loyal servants have already searched every corner of it for him?" He asked with unmasked anger in his voice.

"My lord, he was… eh… found in his rooms," Goyle answered nervously.

Voldemort didn't say a word; he just quickened his pace to reach his destination faster. He wasn't in a mood for hide and seek games and wanted to know why Severus was found in his room after he had ordered his servants to search the grounds for him. The door was wide open and Bellatrix was standing in the middle of the room, an unreadable expression on her face. Yaxley was standing next to another open door that lead to a separate room he had not noticed previously. He walked over to Yaxley who bowed with a small, 'My Lord,' but Voldemort ignored him and looked into the room and saw Severus lying in the middle of the tiled floor, face down in an alarmingly large pool of his own blood.

"Who did this?" Voldemort snarled, his anger rising.

"We don't know, my lord if anyone had done this to him or not! I think he just fainted from blood loss from his injuries given to him by Bella, my lord!" Yaxley answered with another little bow, now more sober than the last time he was in Voldemort presence.

"You think?" asked Voldemort, a dangerous glint prominent in his eyes.

"I am sorry my lord! I'm not an expert in this and I did not dare examine him without your permission either. I assumed that was what happened, judging from all of the blood he's lost." He gestured toward pool of blood on the bathroom floor. "It seemed logical." Yaxley finished with another little bow.

"Fine, find someone – find Narcissa. Call her and tell her to take care of him. Tell her he had better recover by tomorrow, otherwise she must answer to me!" He turned toward the door and saw Bellatrix still standing there in the middle of the room.

"I told you to punish him a little and not to the brink of death! If there be any permanent damage because of this, you will pay for it. And when I've finished with you, you'll wish you never pointed your wand at him!" Voldemort shouted in his rage and drew his wand. With a flick of his wrist and a quick "Crucio," Bellatrix had fallen to the floor and was writhing in pain, screaming. But the pain stopped as soon as it came.

"You are lucky, because if it weren't for you, we probably would have reached Severus too late. And you need to participate in the raid – we've already lost Severus for tonight and I don't need to lose another one of my followers on this! Your Lord Voldemort is forgiving, but I shall punish you for disobeying orders and accusing Severus of treachery later. Unless you convince me otherwise on this raid…"

No one dared to point out to him that he was the one who ordered Severus to be kept under torture – and had been enjoying the scene. He was also the one who came bursting into his spy's room, screeching treachery. But with those last words, Voldemort had swept out of the room.

*~ You Know What? This is a Page Break ~*

When Severus regained consciousness the first thing he noticed was that there was someone else in the room – if it was a room and not a cell – with him. Without opening his eyes or moving a single muscle in his body; he started to inspect his surroundings. He knew that he was no longer lying face down on the cold tiles of his bathroom, but on something soft and warm – his bed probably. He wasn't wet with his own blood, or even wet in the slightest. Come to think of it, he couldn't detect a scent of blood at all. He did, however, feel bandages around his wounds. So, the Dark Lord had bought his story? 'Or else he ordered you to be healed so he can torture you again!' a voice in his head whispered.

'If the Dark Lord placed a guard to watch me, then yes, he wants me healthy for his torture session,' Severus thought and nearly shuddered, but stopped himself; not wanting to let his guard know that he was awake, at least until he knew what they were going to do to him when he woke. He focused on his guard, hoping that he can identify whoever it was. He could smell a perfume in the air and dread filled him.

He hoped desperately Dark Lord hadn't placed Bellatrix as his guard. But then he remembered that Bellatrix didn't wear perfume, and the one he smelt was familiar. With a little more concentration, he successfully identified it as one of Narcissa's. He sighed with relief inside. The Dark Lord never used Narcissa as a prisoner guard and most definitely not for him. It was common knowledge that Narcissa wouldn't stand a chance in a duel with him and that Severus, Lucius and Narcissa were bosom friends from Hogwarts. No, the Dark Lord would never place Narcissa as his guard.

He tried to open his eyes and for first time noticed the brightness on the other side of his eyelids. 'Surely candles couldn't light up the room like this and I couldn't have slept long enough for the sun to be this up!' He thought to himself. He opened his eyes, but quickly shut them again as the light was too bright for his eyes and moaned softly.

Severus heard sound of a book being shut, the curtains being closed, and at last sound of light footsteps that were coming his way. Then he felt the left side of his bed sink with Narcissa's weight. "Now open your eyes, Severus." Her soft voice beckoned.

He opened his eyes and noticed that the light in the room had dimmed greatly. He turned his head and looked at the window and saw that it was the curtains that were stopping the light from streaming in the room. Then he looked back at Narcissa.

"Thank Merlin, you have woken up at last! I thought you were never going to wake up, sleepy head!" she said with a light joking tone in her voice. Very few people had ever seen this side of the Lady of Malfoy Manor, Severus himself might have seen it once or twice, and had doubts that even Lucius had seen it much more than he had!

'I have woken up at last? She didn't think I was going to wake up? How long was I unconscious? He thought not realizing he'd voiced his last question aloud. He noticed how dry his throat was and apparently Narcissa did too.

"Your condition was very bad last night; you had lost so much blood. You were unconscious until it was almost dawn, and you had a little fever as well. You finally went to a restful sleep, and you haven't stirred at all till now. It's one o'clock in the afternoon now," She answered patiently, conjuring a glass of water for him and handing it to him as she spoke.

"What? I had class today!" In a blink he was up and searching for his robes and boots, his dry throat forgotten.

"Here, Severus," she said, picking up his boots and handing them to him just after banishing the water. "I had the elves clean your clothes; they're on the chair over there," she pointed to an ornate chair near his bed and said, "The Dark Lord said that when you awoke you were to see him before returning to Hogwarts." Narcissa watched as he walked around the room, gathering his things and then performed a spell that swapped his clothes.

"Thank you Narcissa, for everything," Severus said while pulling his outer cloak on. He usually wouldn't thank people – usually they never did anything for him – and he certainly wouldn't apologize to them. But recently he had been trying to say things like that as much as he could to the woman who was standing in front of him. He knew what Narcissa was going through and how other Death Eaters treated her. In Lucius' absence Severus would try his best to help his friend's family and one of those helpful things happened to be emotional support. Thank heavens that Narcissa wasn't the crying type. Apologizing, thanking, or sometimes just listening to troubles he knew how to do. But comforting crying people was a different story; he hadn't very much experience in that field. Yes, there were those times that he tried to comfort his Slytherins, but they were all first years and just home sick. And even then he was awkward and felt out of place.

"You're welcome, and do take care, Severus. Bellatrix had been punished for torturing you more than necessary," at this she rolled her eyes at Dark Lord's antics, "and accusing you of treachery as well. It didn't help that last night's raid hadn't gone very well! Aurors came and there was a horrible battle; they managed to capture some Death Eaters and that made the Dark Lord furious! So all in all, neither of them is in a good mood."

"Thank you for telling me, Narcissa, I'll be careful." Severus said, grateful for the heads up. "But did you say that Bellatrix accused me of treachery?" He knew full well that Bellatrix had, but as he was supposed to be unconscious then it would be wise if he acted as if he didn't know. So he played along.

Narcissa rolled her eyes again. "Bellatrix was standing watch at your door after the meeting and then for some reason she started knocking and demanding that you open the door. Her knocking turned to pounding after she failed to bring down your wards and open the door. Then she claimed that you had snuck out – I don't know how she can make such claim when she was standing watching your door. Then Yaxley told me that the Dark Lord came and opened the door and when they didn't find you the hell broke loose. And not a single one of the Death Eaters thought to even check your bathroom until later."

'Thank Merlin for that' Severus thought. After several moments of silence, Narcissa nodded once in acknowledgment and left the room and headed for her own rooms. She didn't know where Severus's true loyalty lay and at that point, she could care less. But regardless of who's side he was on, she knew that she was able to trust him with her life and the life of her son; certainly more than she would trust her sister and sometimes even more than that she would her own husband.

Narcissa walked as quickly as she dared to her rooms and looked around before she opened the door and walked in; she closed the door behind her and leaned against it. 'The worst thing is that you don't feel safe in even your own house' she thought to herself as she locked the door with a few whispered incantations. But there were those few times when Severus decided to stay at the Manor (now that Lucius wasn't there) and in those times, she always felt safe.

Because no one dared come near her with either Severus or Lucius residing in the Manor, but her pride wouldn't allow her to confide her fears to him. If she spent any more time around him than she already did, Severus, being the clever man that he was would become suspicious.

"So 'Our Mighty Prince' has woken up at last?" a male voice asked from a particularly dark corner in her room.

Narcissa's head whipped around to the corner, one of her hands flying to her heart and the other snapping up with her wand firmly clutched in it. "You scared me half to death – don't do that again, you moron!" She hissed, trying to calm her racing heart.

The man chuckled. Of course, if you could call that 'thing' a man, "Sorry my dear," it said, not sounding in the least bit sorry. "So that half breed woke up?"

"Yes, but don't talk about Severus like that. He may be a half blood, but in this hellacious house, he is the only one that treats me decently. Furthermore, he is a good friend of Lucius and mine's so I'd appreciate it if you would speak about him with a little more respect," Narcissa said slowly, her eyes flashing. Even with the multiple wards and silencing charms around the room she was still paranoid about someone hearing her hence her low tones. The man in front of her didn't say anything.

She sighed and said, leaning back against the door, "Thank Merlin, he's alright. I was really worried about him."

"You were worried about him as a friend, as your son's protector, or as someone whose fate determines yours?" the man asked trying to hide the amusement in his tone without success.

"Of course as a friend!" she said hotly, but at the look she received from the man as he stood from his dark corner and glided closer to her, Narcissa sighed and admitted at last, "Well… all of them" she said in almost whisper, her voice sad.

"Narcissa, everything is going to be alright" the man said trying to reassure her, walking closer still.

"All right? Everything is going from bad to worse each day! And it's all your son's fault!" Narcissa said angrily, pointing at him with enough force to break a glass.

"My, my, Narcissa!" He exclaimed with a roguish smile, "I admit that my son and I weren't correct in regards to things in the world, but I can't fathom how everything is my son's fault! There are things in this world which are out of the hands of all of us."

"Well, I don't see what exactly is in your control now!" She said sardonically as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The man chuckled. "Yes, there is nothing in my control now…" He smirked and then said, "One of the many side effects of mortality." Another chuckle followed that.

"I would chuckle, too, if I were you!" Narcissa spat, "You do not have to contend with being treated like a servant. Or a whore! Or the one who is supposed to kill one of the most powerful wizards in history at the age of sixteen!" Her breathing had turned ragged as her rant further increased her pent up anger and frustration, "Lucius's imprisonment, Draco's and my condition, are all because of what happened at the Ministry. And it's all his fault! Your son's!" The cold and collected woman that was well known was far gone by now, and was replaced with the red faced, livid, protective mother.

"It is the Dark Lord's fault, no one else's," the man said, seeing an opportunity and jumping on it.

"No one but yourselves made you and your son join his ranks! It was your own greed that brought this upon you! And by fault, on us! You made this bed, but now all of us must lie in it!"

The man didn't care to tell her that she didn't seem to care about those decisions when they had been made in the past.

With a glance at the man in front of her, she sighed and felt her anger subside, "I hate this situation, where my hands are tied behind my back and all I can do is sit back and watch my son and husband suffer and because of that I suffer as well. I hate having to watch my back every single second in my own house." Narcissa sighed again.

The man seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, "I am sorry for everything… for being unable to help you, Draco, and Lucius."

"Well at least you are here, which makes it that much easier for me to take it all out on you," Narcissa answered with a little smile. Telling someone some of her worries and fears seemed to help her calm a great deal and it seemed as if an invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

*~ Hey, Look Here! What Do You See? Yea, a Page Break~*

Before Severus left his room, he did a quick check to make sure he had everything before he made his way towards the Main Hall of the Manor. If Bellatrix was with the Dark Lord, then they were most likely in the Main Hall, so he would check there first. If they weren't there then he would go to the Dark Lord's rooms and continue on from there.

When he reached the large double, dark oak doors, he stood just outside the grand room for a moment to bring up his shields. He brought forth the memory of last night's events to the front of his mind for the Dark Lord to see. Of course, it was an edited version, one that didn't contain his leaving the Manor to go to the Order headquarters to warn them of the raid.

When he was certain his thoughts and memories were all in order, he took a deep breath and knocked. Upon hearing the Dark Lord's voice, Severus opened the door, entered and closed the door behind him. He found the Dark Lord sitting in his throne-like chair and Bellatrix sitting in a chair next to him; a small table with drinks on it was separating them.

"Ah, Severus, you woke up at last! We were so… worried for you," he said the last sentence in a way that left no doubt in Severus's mind about how much the Dark Lord was worried for him.

"My lord" Severus said, bowing slightly. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes, come closer, my faithful servant. It was very unfortunate that you lost the chance to join in on last night's fun; with all that time that you are stuck in Hogwarts I believe that you need some fun. Last night was a good opportunity for it… things might have gone better if you had been there as well," Voldemort said, aiming his last statement mostly at Bellatrix – Severus thought that he saw her flinch slightly. He walked over to the Dark Lord and came to a stop several feet from the throne-like chair, kneeled and bowed.

"Stand my friend, you have no need to bow. There was no evidence that pointed to the identity of your attacker so I placed the blame on your session with our dear Bella here and punished her accordingly." Voldemort gestured to the female Death Eater sitting next to him when he said her name.

When the Dark Lord mentioned Severus's attacker, he got a little confused, but when Voldemort continued and Severus heard what he said about punishing Bellatrix, Severus was certain that the Dark Lord's intent was to enter his mind. This whole incident with Severus being 'attacked' seemed to be an excuse to do so… not that the Dark Lord needed any excuses.

"But I want to be certain that everyone involved is punished – Legilimens!" The Dark Lord entered Severus's mind and started searching for the memory. Not that he needed to search very much to find it - as the memory was in the forefront of Severus's mind – but the Dark Lord always started with ripping apart the minds of his victims, followers, and prisoners alike; he played no favorites when it came to torture. Severus knew the Dark Lord did this so he could have access to any memory he wanted without resistance, enjoy the power he held over his victims, and enjoy their suffering. But which of them was the Dark Lord's main goal Severus didn't know and frankly didn't care as he didn't want to delve too deeply into the workings of that mad man's mind.

Severus chose several memories carefully and let them slip outside of his shield, creating in a sense another shield around his mind. He didn't want to raise the Dark Lord's suspicions by finding impenetrable shields standing between him and free reign of his servant's mind.

When the Dark Lord was bored of shredding Severus's mind he returned to the memory and watched it again and again. When he was satisfied with Severus's edited version of the memory (not that he knew that) and was sure that no one had attacked Severus, he withdrew from his spy's mind. The Potion's Master fell to his knees and keeled over from the force of the attack on his mind, trying to calm his hammering heart, clenching his fist on the cool wooden floor. But that turned out to be impossible as he couldn't focus on anything, let alone sooth his adrenalin filled body.

It took nearly an entire minute for him to be able to focus on something – the reflection of the form that was sitting above him on the shiny mahogany floor. That minute passed in utter silence as the two other occupants of the room watched him struggle with great amusement. When he could think well enough to regain control of his limbs he tried to push himself back up to a kneeling position – tried being the key word there.

After several attempts he managed to bring himself back up to a kneeling position, but his head was hanging and his breathing was somewhat ragged as he set about his next task which was evaluating his situation. He chanced a quick glance at the Dark Lord through his black hair that was hanging like curtains in front of his eyes. The way Voldemort's face was set made Severus want to curse; there was a list of possible things that could bring forth such a reaction to the Dark Lord's face and none of them boded well for the triple agent.

"You didn't participate in last night's raid. Although you had a good reason for doing so, you still disobeyed my direct orders." 'Here it comes' Severus thought, screwing his eyes shut, preparing himself the best for the pain that was going to come. "And you must be punished for that. Crucio!"

Severus fell back to the ground writhing in pain; Bellatrix's eyes lit up at his suffering. When the Dark Lord ended the curse - probably because he got bored from Severus' lack of screaming - he dismissed Severus. It was an impossible task for Severus to gather his limbs and exit the Manor, as he hadn't had very much time to recover from Voldemort's Legilimency before being Crucio'd. But as he didn't want to experience another round he somehow found the will and strength to push himself to his feet and stagger from the room, but not before another Cruciatus hit him again – apparently the Dark Lord didn't think he was leaving fast enough.

Severus wished that he could go back to his room in the Manor to pick up some headache and anti-Cruciatus potions, but he knew that there was no time. So he stumbled throughout the Manor, practically blind from the pain that was all over his body, heavily using the walls for support on his way out. When he crossed over the wards and entered the forest he allowed himself a moment's rest at the foot of a tree. There was no way in hell he wanted to chance apparating while he was in this state so he figured that he would just wait until the dizziness and shaking stopped.

TBC

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What do you think? Let me know!

This chapter is dedicated to Alethea27!

I have published a new story named "Face The World Alone: Tale Of A Fallen Angel". I would appreciate it, if you take a look at it and tell me what you think!


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